The alleged rape of a Myanmar woman at a Thai police station has sparked an outpouring of anger online.
Social media users have called for authorities to take strong action against a sergeant major who is accused of attacking a 21-year-old Myanmar woman in his office from 1.50am to 2.30am on January 13 on the island of Koh Samui.
The senior officer—named by Thai media as Watcharin Silpsamosorn—was suspended and charged with sexual assault and negligence on January 15 and has since been granted bail. In Thailand, sexual assault carried a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Ye Min, a representative of Aid Alliance Committee, an organisation that helps migrant workers, posted on Facebook about the alleged crime on January 15. It has so far been shared 51,000 times.
“If necessary, we are ready to stand up for our Burmese people,” wrote director Yone Lay under the post.
“They will do whatever they want to our people because they know that our country does not want to waste its time and money on poor people like this,” wrote another user, Khin Than Dar Aung.
Investigators released CCTV footage showing Silpsamosorn take out the woman from her cell at Bo Phut Police Station, where she arrived on January 6 after serving two years in prison on drug charges. She was due to be deported to Myanmar.
The woman was taken to Koh Samui Hospital for physical examination and remains in custody at the same police station, according to Ye Min.
The incident came to light after the woman was allowed to call her family, according to Khaosod English. The family called the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, which then filed a complaint directly with the Bo Phut police chief.
